Traveler slide for sail attachments



Dec. 1s, 1928. 1,695,674

P. C. WILSON V TRAVELER SLIDE FOR SAIL ATTAcHuENTs Filed May 24, 1927ATTORNEYS, /8

' any possible direction( Patented Dec. 18, 1928-."

g 'UNITED ATE S PATENrio'FFicE;

,f P Rnscor'r o. WILSON, ornnooxnvnunw YORK.,l Q

TRAVELER SLIDE FOR ysArL nrracniuiin'rs.

' VApplication iled May 24,

This inventionrelates to improvements inA securing devices of the typewherein the element or part secured therebyv is restrained for 1traveling ymovement along a lcertain course,- vand more particularlyinsome of its aspects the invention crelates to improvements in vltraveling slides or runners for securing sails Y or'the like kfortraveling movement along a spar or mast. Y l i It is a general objectvof the invention `to provide 'an improved securing device of the classmentioned so constructed Vand arranged Y as'to diminish or practicallyavoid jamming or binding, or similar resistance to free travclingmovement ofthe ,securedI element.

Avfurther and vmore particular object is to` provide, in a sail securingdevice of the class mentioned,.a runner ory traveler slide having Y anvimproved anti-friction vattachment whereby jamming with the supportingguideway, or other-objectionable resistance to 'movement'thereof, is`effectively avoided duringy movement ofthe runner. in either directionalong the guideway, andunder torsional and other stresses exertedthereon by the sailin A further object is to providea sail securingdevice of the class mentioned .having an 5 improved anti-frictionattaching: arrangelessen the time and veffort required to raise'orV Vpart obvious in connection therewith.

The Ainvention accordingly comprises the features of'construction,combination of cleinents, and arrangement of parts, which will Y beexemplified in the construction` hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the claims.

Fora more complete understanding of they nature and objects of theinvention, reference is had to the following detailed descrip.- tion ofthe illustrativeembodiment, 'and "to the accompanying drawings, in whichy Fig. l is a fragmentary elevation showing Y a sail secured to a kmastby means of the iinproved; attachment.'

, `Fig.` 2 isanenlarged degrees' of torsion.

invention will be in;

" perspective view ia27.` serial No. 1793.775.

Showing a traveler sin@tmb@tu/arg1. the 11i;

.ventio'n` i Y Fig. 3 isa fragmentary :elevation showing .Y A

the travelerlslide in positimy upon a guide'-l 1' way, partsbeing brokenawaytoimprove'the disclosure'. a Fig. 4 is. a: sectional VVplan 'ofFig.-3. v f

" The service'to which travelerslidesgein-" ployed in securing sails tomasts,.orfth"e alike,

vin sailing vessels, is eXceptionally rigorous, and the tendency tobinding and similar obstruction to free` movement along the 'supportingguideway is particularly great, `due to the. great variety `of torsionalstresses eX- i. .erted upon the slide in many vdifferent directions whenthe sail occupies .different positions relatively to thermast. lThis'jbinding tendency is accentuated' bythe jerkingfand guidingattachment thereto remains insta- `slatting action'in raisingorlloweringf the fu? i sails under Trough wea-ther conditions. *It

will be obvious that, while the vvmast rand'slidey 75 tionarypositiomthesailand attaching con- I nections therefor may be positionedat a great variety of angles tothe mast, and consev quently stressesupon the slide will be exerted in numerous different directions invarying ous' service mentioned. i

Referring to the drawing for a detailed disclosure of theembodimenty ofthe'invention there shown, a sail l0" of vasailingvessel is supported bya spar or mast 11 which may;

be positionedas desired. lA vguideway 12 in the form-.of anelongatedflatbar or plate is secured' to the mast by suitable securingdevices 13, its direction oflength corresponding generally with thatofthe mast. A supporting block or strip lil-may be interposed betweenthe guide bar and thel mast so as to providea.V firm seat for the bar`and tospace. "i

' itslightly vfrointhe'adjacent surface/of the v Y' ioof A pl-urality'oftraveler slides or runners 15 Y are mounted for Vslida-bl'e engagementwithv rIhe g improved 4traveler Y vslide herein described is design-edvto avoid, `in ya very largedegree, the b-inding resistance v to freemovement of the slide'under the rigorthe guideway in-connectedrelationftherei' with, each runner beingprovided with van at-"taching'ban 16k securedA at longitudinally spaced parts thereof to therunner asby studs 17. The attaching bar lextends longitudinal- 'ly ofthe runner and is spaced slightly therefrom so as to provide anelongated slot or `passageway for the reception of an attachdescriptionof all. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3,

the runner is generally channel-shaped in cross section, including aback section 20,'op-

.posed side or edge sections 21 and opposed inwardly extending marginalprojections or flanges 22. This construction provides opposed edgechannels or grooves 23 for the reception of the edges of the guide bar,as shown inFig; 4. The slide or runner is thus connected to the guideway for traveling movement in either direction therealong.

Anti-friction rollers 24 are mounted upon the runner, there preferablybeing two of these rollers at each side of the runner, spaced apartlongitudinally a short distance. These rollers are positioned forengagement with the longitudinal edges of the guide bar 12, which ispreferably provided with rounded corners for presenting smooth contactsurfaces with the anti-friction rollers. rl`hese rollers are` preferablypositioned wholly within the channels 23 of the runner and their axesare disposed transversely of the channels and of the runner itself.

The contact faces of the rollers 24 may be formed in Wide open channelssubstantially as shown in Fig. 4 and curved transversely of the contactedges of the guide bar; that is, the concave contact surfaces of theroller are presented to the guide bar edges. The sides of the rollersadjacent the bar edges are preferably disposed within the channels 23 sothat the bar edges when in operative position may extend for a shortdistance into the runner channels 23.

By virtue ofthe open channel construction of the anti-friction rollerswith the concave contact surfaces arranged as described, a certainamount of twisting movement of the runner is permitted before the guidebar edges come into contact with the respective roller surfaces.Torsional stresses upon the runner exerted by the sail are thuscompensated andthe runner permitted to assume a nonbinding position withreference to the guide bar no matter in what angular direction the pullof the sail is exerted upon the runner. It will be observed that theattaching bar 16 is positioned Aintermediate the pairs of laterallydisposed anti-friction rollers so that the tor sional as well as otherstresses imposed by the sail in different positions will be equallydistribut-ed to the runner, and through the rollers to the guide bar. Bymeans of the arrangement described friction and binding tendency arereduced to a negligible amount. It will be observed that the curvatureor concave construction of the open channel contact i surface of therollers is so proportioned with reference to the width of vguide bar 12that the bar edges Will contact with said Vsurfaces toward the ends Vofthe rollers to limit the twisting or torsional movement of the runnerupon its longitudinal axis. The rollers, therefore, always contact withthe guide bar in all possible positions of the runner, and at no time isthe guide bar permitted to come into contact with the Walls of thechannels 23.

.The tendency to binding of the runner is still further diminished bythe lost motion or automatic longitudinally adjusting connection betweenthe sail and the runner pro-.

vided by the elongated attaching bar 16, along which the connecting ring18 is movable. By

means of this adjusting connection longitudi- Y nal pulls upon therunner Will always be exerted at theforward end thereof, thus helping tokeep the runner in correct alignment with reference to the guide bar.

Since certain changes may be made in thel scope of the invention which,as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.'

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toV secureby Letters Patent, is: i

1. In a device ofthe character described, in combination, an` elongatedguideway mounted upon a mast, or the like, arunner adapted to beattached Vto a sail, and means for attaching said runner to saidguideway for movement therealong in opposite directions, said attachingmeans including a pair of rollers mounted at each side of said runnerand engaging said guideway at. laterally spaced parts thereof, saidrollers having wide open channels for receiving said guideways and.permitting limited torsional or twisting movement of the runnerrelatively to the guideway so as to reduce binding and friction.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, an elon Gatedguideway mounted upon a mast, or the li e, and being in theform of aflattened bar having its edge corners rounded, a runner adapted to beattached to a sail, and means for attaching said ruimer to said guidewayfor movement therealong in opposite directions, said attaching meansthickness of the edge of said bar so as to permit limited twistingmovement of the runner relatively to the guideway.

11. In a device of the character described, in combination, anelongatedguideway in the form of a flattened bar7 a sail attachingrunner, and means for attaching said runner to said guideway formovement therealong in opposite directions, said attaching meansincluding rollers mounted upon said runner and laterally disposedthereon, each of said rollers havin a peri heral channel for re'-ceiving the a jacent ge of said 'bar and said channel being wide openrelatively to the thickness of the edge of said bar so as to permittwisting movement of the runner relatively to the guideway, the channelsof said rollers having curved Contact surfaces curved transversely ofthe adjacent edges of the said flattened bar.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

PRESCOTT C. WILSON.

